KIRKUS REVIEW

Debut author Joseph recounts how Christianity guided him during doubtful
periods of his professional career in this inspirational remembrance.

The author grew up learning the
entrepreneurial spirit from his father, Milton Joseph, a Los Angeles businessman who made millions in various enterprises,
including a construction business and a real estate investment firm. His father
also taught Joseph failure, however: while the author was in his early 20s, his
parents were nearly driven into bankruptcy by poor business decisions. Joseph
had expected to follow in his father’s footsteps as a businessman, but instead
he became a police officer. He channeled his energy into off-duty martial arts and raising a young
family, but Joseph felt unfulfilled until he heard a chance sermon from his
Baptist pastor one Sunday: “The
sermon he preached was not a message of hope and triumph. It was about the realities
of the valleys in your life. I was taken aback by
the sermon because it patterned my current state.” Joseph says that he then
opened himself to divine guidance, often finding it in the form of friends or
strangers who offered him advice or opportunities. He began to build a fitness
and martial arts training gym, slowly investing time and money to grow his
reputation and client base. Relying on his trust in God and the support of his
wife, he sought to avoid the mistakes of his father. Joseph recounts his story in confident, straightforward, and
unexpectedly nuanced prose: “I had a moment of doubt in the middle of my good
fortune,” he writes. “You might call me a positive pessimist. It means I’d
rather think of the worst-case scenario so if something does not go well my
emotions would be balanced.” Joseph also recognizes that not everyone is a
Christian believer, and so the book is rather light on
proselytizing. Joseph can be quite confrontational, as proven by the numerous
feuds detailed in the book; whether the reader attributes his success to divine
intervention, luck, or hard work, his account surely demonstrates a doggedness
that would-be entrepreneurs should note.

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